A Court of Splintered Harmony (A Court of Thorns and Roses‪)‬

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ / 5
Character development ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Narration ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice 🌶️🌶️.5 / 5

Spoiler free review:

I read the book after the midnight release, and I also listened to the audiobook right after reading it.

First about the narration:
Elisabeth Evans did it again. Her performance is outstanding as always. You will never feel confused about who is talking. She does not just read the story for us; she performs it. Her pacing, vocal plays create a beautiful dramatic result that elevates the whole book experience to the next level.

Now, about the book:
I just want to put this book into perspective. If you are expecting a book at the level of ACoMaF, you will be disappointed. The purpose of this short book is to introduce a major shift in the storyline, just like SJM did with ACoFaS.
This book is just a teaser (a sonata), and as long as you think of it this way, it will fulfill its purpose. Trust SJM’s process!

Also, for people who are criticizing the structural integrity of the book and have the nerve to call a world-best-selling author a bad writer.
This part/book out of the 4-parts / 3-books is called Sonata. A sonata serves as a building block for a large-scale production like a symphony. They have a specific structure on how it’s composed, and it’s to achieve heavy emotional drama. The goal is to create chaos and conflict, and balance between tension and composure that initiates an emotional response in the listener or in our case, the reader.
SJM doesn’t do anything without reason. Everything that this book made you feel is on purpose.

I do believe that reading Crescent City (CC) before this installment (who hasn’t read them yet) would help readers to understand the emotional involvement and consequences more for some of the major characters.
I completely understand that Crescent City is a different level of writing and maybe challenging for many readers to get into it or through it. However, unfortunately several things just won’t make sense in the future installments without reading CC.

While this book was full of new information and there were several plot twists, it is impossible to have even an inkling of an idea where the story is going.

I honestly enjoyed the book, and I am dying to read the next one because this was NOT enough!!!

‼️‼️ SPOILERS ‼️‼️ (possibly)

There is a reason why the title is Splintered Harmony. The harmony represents the inner circle of the Night Court and their alliances, and it’s aaaaaall falling apart. All the tension that was created between the sisters, Rhys and Az, Feyre and Amren, Az and Truth-Teller, Cassian and Nesta, continent/other courts and the Night Court, etc., are all on purpose. All of the characters experienced some level of failure, and I think it’s just the beginning. I’m expecting the next book to be very dark and dramatic and Crescent City level complicated.

While everything feels chaotic and unsettled by the end of this book, it was meant to be that way. Just trust the process of our brilliant author.

I would absolutely recommend this book!

This one is so slow and just feels like everyone is complaining all the time. The obsession with breast feeding is annoying

Not sure if it’s the narrator choice or a sound issue. I like listening to an audiobook to and from work in the car. There are moments when it gets too soft to hear then 5 seconds later the narrator gets super loud practically blowing out my speakers. I guess I need to read this one the paper copy way. Disappointing.